Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday blamed President Donald Trump for weeks of protests after rights groups said a violent crackdown by security forces had claimed thousands of lives, Reuters reported.
The protests erupted on December 28 over economic hardship and swelled into widespread demonstrations calling for the end of clerical rule in the Islamic Republic.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene, including promising to "take very strong action" if Iran executed protesters.
But on Friday, in a social media post, he thanked Tehran's leaders, saying they had called off mass hangings. Iran said there was "no plan to hang people".
In comments that appeared to respond to Trump, Khamenei said: "We will not drag the country into war, but we will not let domestic or international criminals go unpunished," state media reported.
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